Pierre Poilievre pledges to end all imports of overseas oil

CPC leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre announced today that his future government would end overseas oil imports within five years. Speaking from New Brunswick, Poilievre said he would ban imports from polluting dictatorships, double Newfoundland’s offshore production, and move western Canadian oil to eastern Canadian markets.

“Justin Trudeau supports oil—as long as it is foreign oil. Every time he kills a Canadian energy project, foreign dictators like Putin do a victory dance, because they get to dominate the world market,” said Poilievre.

“Buying overseas oil from polluting dictatorships is terrible for our environment. It exports our jobs, our money and our pollution to countries with poor ecological standards. Instead, let us bring home the jobs, money and business to the most environmentally-responsible energy sector in the world here in Canada.”

In 2020, Canada imported roughly 73,000 barrels per day from Saudi Arabia. This is the case, despite Canada being a resource-rich country, fully capable of being energy independent.

A Poilievre government would support the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s plan to more than double its production from 244,000 barrels per day to 650,000 barrels per day which would supply 406,000 additional daily barrels to replace the 126,000 barrels of daily imported overseas oil fully. Poilievre would do this by repealing the anti-energy law C-69 and removing gatekeepers.

“Canada must take back control of its energy and reclaim independence. When I am Prime Minister, we will end imports of overseas oil, and instead use our energy for our people in our country. We will remove government gatekeepers at home and stop paying dictators abroad,” said Poilievre.

“Consumers will know when they fill up their tanks they are providing paycheques for Canadians, not money for despots. Canadians will take back control of their lives in the freest country on earth.”

Poilievre is one of eleven candidates seeking the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is the first to commit to energy independence and ban imports from dictatorships.